Rafa Benitez is adored by Newcastle fans as much as Liverpool supporters loved him

But at the time he was more worried about being hit by a tree!

Benitez admitted: “I was really proud of what they’d achieved but you do not realise straight away what it means.

“You realise after, when you go to the city and see the fans.

“I remember we were on top of the double-decker and it was going really fast and you could see the trees.

“The players were like, ‘Woah’, ducking. We had to say, ‘slow down!’.” Even now, Benitez — whose Kop side faced AC Milan again in the 2007 final but lost 2-1 — is stopped in the streets by Liverpool fans who want to talk about Istanbul.

Rafa said: “I always say Istanbul will be the most emotional final ever because of the way we won, the way we came back.

“You find Liverpool fans everywhere and they will always want to talk about Istanbul.

“At my home I must have watched hundreds of programmes on Istanbul.

“Some of the players that were there, you don’t remember who they are, where they are. But they were there, they are in the picture.